A Bright Future
by Navigator101
Summary: AU.  When Alanna comes home from the convent, she discovers that her father has unexpectedly betrothed her to Lord George of Danshame and has set her wedding date.  For the June MoT challenge.


Disclaimer: I don't own SotL in any way shape or form. If I did Alanna and Jon would have never been together in any form. Safe to say I'm not Mrs. Pierce.

A.N: This is my entry for the June MoT Challenge which was to alter any important event in cannon. I am very fond of this one and have a lot of plans for this universe so I will hopefully have more for this universe out before too much longer if all goes well.

A Bright Future

Alanna walked into her father's study quietly. He had summoned her and she knew it could only be for one reason. He had found a husband for her. She had only been back from the convent for three weeks. Her father was eager to be rid of her again. He didn't want her at Trebond any more than he had wanted Thom there when her twin had finished his training and become a knight. Their father wanted nothing to do with them and never had. Coram and Maude had been the ones to raise them even though you would have to pull Thom's teeth to get him to admit it. "You wanted to see me father?"

Lord Alan looked at his daughter distractedly and nodded. "Yes, yes, sit down, Alanna. I'll be with you in a moment," he muttered before going back to his scroll and finishing up what he had been reading before he summoned his daughter. "Thank you for coming, Alanna. As you know you've been back from the convent for three weeks and I've been looking for a suitable husband for you. I was given an offer earlier that I am accepting. Lord George of Danshame has asked for your hand and he is from a wealthy fief. You will be taken care of. As I recall you played with him once or twice as a child, did you not?"

Alanna nodded. "Yes, Father. Lord George would play with me whenever he came to visit Trebond with his family. He and Thom didn't get along that well but he always played with me." She had adored Lord George as a little girl and loved his visits though she hadn't seen him since she was ten. She barely remembered him now.

Lord Alan nodded again. "Good, then you will have no problems marrying him. You will marry him two months from now and until then you will reside in Corus with Thom getting to know your husband. That will be all, Alanna. Coram will take you to Corus in two days time," he told his daughter, waving his hand to dismiss her while going back to his scroll.

Alanna stood up and left her father's study quietly and headed back to her room. It was exactly what people would expect a young lady's room to look like. The only thing that made it different than most young ladies' rooms was the fact she had a bow and quiver leaning against the wall. Before she had been sent to the convent Thom had forged a letter in their father's hand that would allow Alanna to continue to practice archery even if it wasn't considered ladylike. Since Trebond was so close to the border she needed to know how to protect herself if something were to happen, or so the letter said. The sisters hadn't been very thrilled but they had let her keep up her archery and Alanna was very grateful for her brother's ability to forge their father's handwriting.

Alanna grabbed her bow and quiver from their spot and headed towards the practice courts so she'd be able to think. Archery helped her calm down and think straight most of the time. She hadn't expected her father to marry her off so soon after she got back, even if he was eager to be rid of her. She should be grateful that the husband he'd chosen for her or had agreed to marry her off to was someone she could remember adoring when she was a little girl. Lord George of Danshame used to visit in the summers before he became a squire. He would always make time to play with her and would even help her with archery when Coram was too busy with something else. She had looked forward to his visits a lot because he played with her unlike most of the noble children who visited. Most of them couldn't stand her or Thom because of their love of pranks but the heir of Danshame had almost always known when they were up to something and how to avoid it.

"I suppose it could be worse. At least I know I can get along with George if he hasn't changed too much," she mused while aiming her bow at the target and releasing, smiling as the arrow sailed true.

"I figured I'd find ye out here." Alanna turned and smiled slightly at the sight of Coram heading her way. He didn't look overly impressed to find her out here shooting at the targets. Then again Coram was probably not impressed that she was being wed.

"I take it I should be in my room with Maude packing? After all we're leaving in two days for Corus and I somehow doubt I'll be coming back to Trebond for a very long time if ever." Alanna told Coram dryly while the man shook his head. She may have learned how to be a lady at the convent but it had only done so much for her personality. Her hair was pulled back in a waist length braid and it helped to show off her purple eyes. Coram had a feeling that Alanna had probably driven the sisters insane. The only thing that allowed them to turn her into a lady is the fact Thom wasn't with her.

"Ye'll be fine. I can't say I approve of ye're father marrying you off but I'm no noble. I suppose ye should be packing if only because Maude will be insistent on wanting to know what things ye want to take now and what to send later." Alanna getting married wasn't something he'd ever thought about even though she was a noble simply because she had always acted like a boy growing up. She'd been his pride since Thom had been such a let down. Now her father was marrying her off to the Lord of Danshame. Coram remembered the lad very well. He'd been very fond of Alanna and seemed amused by her personality whereas it put most visiting nobles off. If she was going to marry anyone the Lord of Danshame would at least treat her well.

Alanna smiled as she embraced her twin. "Thom, it's good to see you again. How is life in Corus as a knight treating you? I hope you actually pull your head out of your books and stop experimenting long enough to notice what's going on around you," she teased. She knew full well that her brother would have rather gone to the cloisters and sent her to the palace if it had been possible.

Thom shook his head and held his sister tightly. He'd missed her while they'd been separated and now he was about to lose her for good within a few months. The Lord of Danshame would not reconsider marrying Alanna at all. Thom had already tried without his father's knowledge. Lord George wasn't swayed and had told him he was looking forward to Alanna's arrival as much as Thom was if not more so because he wanted to get to know his bride again as he hadn't seen her in years. Thom didn't want Alanna to be married off right after he got her back but there wasn't anything he could do since this Lord wasn't afraid of him and was eager to marry Alanna.

"I'm fine, Alanna, and if I've been busy with experiments then it's hardly of any concern since I did what was expected and became a knight even if I'm not a good one and everyone knows it. You would have made a better knight than me. You actually enjoy fighting. I'm sure you still practice with your bow since you couldn't do anything else at the convent," Thom replied fondly, looking down at his twin. He only really had her for today. The Lord of Danshame would arrive to start getting to know her tomorrow and there wasn't anything Thom could do about it as the two months before the wedding were supposed to be for his sister and her fiancée to get to know one another better.

Alanna grinned at her brother. "You've turned into a fine knight Thom. You may not like fighting but you can do it now at least. Yes, I do still practice with my bow and I'm sure that I'm a much better shot than you are. We'll have to have a contest sometime during my stay to see."

Thom chuckled softly. "That would be nice, sister, though that's only if your fiancée shares you. He's rather looking forward to your arrival and will be here tomorrow morning to see you. After that if he isn't horrified by you then he'll probably occupy as much of your free time as he can get away with. That means you should unpack and get to bed, Alanna. After all you'll need all the beauty sleep you can get." He winced when his sister promptly punched his arm. That wasn't something they managed to breed out of her at the convent apparently. Knowing his twin, she just changed enough to satisfy everyone at the convent into thinking she was the perfect lady except for the archery while hiding everything else.

Alanna shook her head as she smoothed her dress down the next morning while waiting for her betrothed to arrive. He should arrive at any moment according to Thom so she didn't have time to get some archery practice in to soothe her nerves. She glanced up when the doors to the sitting room opened and her brother walked in with Lord George of Danshame. She smiled and rose to her feet to greet her fiancée. "Lord George, we're glad you were able to make it."

George shook his head slightly as he got his first look at the woman little Alanna had grown into. She was just as beautiful as he'd imagined if not more so. She was still tiny but he wasn't going to say anything as he doubted the convent had gotten rid of her temper. He remembered it very well when she'd unleashed it during some of his visits to Trebond and as fun as it would be to rile her up, now was not the time. There would be plenty of time in the coming years after they were married to rile her up. His hazel eyes danced at the thought of having the tiny but fierce redhead as his wife. "Please call me George, Lady Alanna. It's been a long time since we last saw each other but I'd like to think we can still be friends," he told her, pleased to see a real smile creep across her face.

Alanna nodded. "I'd like to think that as well, George, so please call me Alanna. You were always one of my favorite visitors to Trebond and we didn't hold with formalities then." His dancing hazel eyes had put her at ease almost immediately and she couldn't help but feel like she would enjoy getting to know George again. She would more than likely enjoy being married to him as well but there was no need to tell him that. Though knowing him he would figure it out soon enough. The man had always been able to read her better than anyone else – even Thom – at times. He was still the same as she remembered and that meant being married to him would be enjoyable as he would let her be herself and wouldn't restrict her like some men. Alanna felt like she would be able to come to love her husband without too much trouble which she was grateful for as her father could have married her off to someone she would have hated. George was definitely the best choice.


End file.
